Clothes-retainer for railway-car sleeping-apartments.



N. E. RITCHIE CLOIHES RETAINER FOR RAILWAY CAR SLEEPING APARTMENTS\ APPLICATION FILED APR. 22. I912.

Patented Aug. 6, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

I/ III III! nwmm BY v

i ATTORNEY WITNESSES:

N. E. RITCHIE. CLOTHES RETAINER FOR RAILWAY CAR SLEEPING APARTMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 22, I9l2.

Patented Aug. 6, 1 918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 INVENTUR BY I I, f 1 ATTORNEY WITNESSES:

rsns cu" Pumoumo. vusmrmruu. a. c.

NELVIA n. RITCHIE, on Kansas CITY, MISSOURI.

CLOTHES-RETAINER FOR RAILWAY-CAR SLEEPING-APARTMENTS. I

Specification of Letters'Patent.

Patented Aug. 6, 1918.

Application filed April 22, leis. Serial No. 692,272.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NELVIA E. Error-1m, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clothes-Retainers for Railway-Car Sleeping-Apartments,

of which the "following is a full, clear, and

exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to clothes retainers for sleeping apartments for railway cars and seeks to provide a simple and eilicient form of retainer with ample provisions for retaining the clothes of the occupants in suitable condition when removed on retiring.

- Railway sleeping apartments are usually provided with walls at-either end, curtains hung from a pole at the entrance side of lower and upper berths, the lower side of each berth comprising a bed. it is essential that sleeping apartments be supplied with retainers to retain the clothing of the occupants when removed on retiring, so that on arising the clothes will be in presentable condition. For .this reason sleeping apartments must be supplied with clothes retainers constructed to retain clothing in a neat and uncrumpled condition, and located easily accessible from the bed, which is located within the apartment or berth.

The present invention seeks to provide an improved clothes retainer for sleeping apartments to receive the occupants clothes when removed on retiring so that the clothes will be retained in a presentable condition. It is customary to provide a box, or trough, at either end of'the berth for clothing and a swinging hammock hanging within the berth, but by providingretainers that will retain the clothing in a smooth, presentable, uncrumpled condition, much annoyance and inconvenience will be removed from thetraveling public, as all travelers know that their clothes are usually ruined by a trip in the usual form of sleeping car.

Another object of the invention is to place the retainers within the berth on the entering side so they may be easily accessible from within or without.

A still further object is to so connect the retainers that they may be easily and instantly removed from the berth, which is highly desirable from the fact that the sleeping-apartments are usually converted into traveling apartments during the day.

lVith theseand other objects in View, the invention consists in the features of construction, combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter set forth, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and more particu-. larlypointed out in the claim appended.

In the drawings, V Figure 1 is a View in vertical longitudinal section of a sleeping car apartment to which the improvements are applied, the viewbein represented in Fig, 2 line aa looking in the direction of arrow 1. i Fig. 2 is a view in vertical cross section of Fig. 1 on line b -o looking in the direction of arrows IIII. Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation of the retainer. V Fig. 4: is an end elevation of Fig. 3 on the same scale but withparts removed on lines c-@ and d-d. 1

Fig. 5 is the same view as Bigdwith certain parts in a different operative position. Fig. 6 is an enlarged vertical cross section on line of Fig. 7 looking in the direction of arrows III-J11.

Fig. 7 is an elevation of a fragmento'f Fig. 1, same construction, but with certain parts in diiferent positions.

I Fig. 8 is an enlarged View of a modified manner of suspending the retainer;

Fig. 9 is a. vertical cross section of Fig. 8

on line f-f looking in the direction of ar-' rows TILL-I111. 5 r The apartment is formed as usual with end walls 1 and curtains 2 which are hung from the pole 3 by hooks. 4: connecting with the curtain through rings 5 and contains the berths 6 and 7,: the lower portion of which terminates in beds 8 and 9 respectively.

The retainer is preferably formed of a single piece of wire forming an eye at 10 to receive thestrap 11, andis twisted at 12,

13, 14: and 15 to form a cross with vertical and horizontal arms. The horizontal arms 13 and 15 extending outward in double wire section angling downward to 16 and curved downward at either end forming a hook at 17 to make width for the purpose of fitting the upper part of a coat or other garment and holding it in a similar position as that assumed when worn by a person. The lower arms 21 extend outward and downward from 12, forming an are from 18 to 19, the

outer ends being connected by horizontal portion 20 which is in double wire section. The end portions of the wire follow the are from 19 to 18 and are adjacent thereto, the ends 18 being coiled around the outward extending portions of the wire at 21.

It is obvious that both arcs 18, 19 and horizontal portion 20 are in double wire section and that the portions 20 may be sprung and separated as in Fig. 5. The object of this is to insert a ladys skirt, a gentlemans trousers or other garments between the portions 20, allowing them to spring together and grip the article, holding it free from becoming wrinkled or mussed.

Collars 22 are provided to pull down in the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4 to increase the grip of portions 20, and are raised as shown in F ig; 5 when it is desired to release the article.

From the foregoing it will be understood that arms 16 and 17 will hold such articles as vests, coats, ladies waists and the like, while arms 19, 19, 20 will hold gentlemens trousers, ladies skirts and the like and the garments will not become crumpled or unpresentable because they will hang in an even and smooth position.

The retainer is secured to strap 11 to which is secured hook 2a which in turn is suspended from the pole 3 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, or the hook may engage the eye 5 as illustrated in the enlarged views Figs. 6 and 7.

It is not desired to restrict the retainer to the construction shown, or the manner of hanging as it is obvious that other forms of retainers and methods of hanging may be employed. It is preferable, however, to hang the retainer on the entering side of the berth for the reasons that it is more easily accessible from both within and without and the strap 11 may extend into the lower berth without interfering with the beds 8 and 9.

Whether the retainer be hung from the pole 3 as in Figs. 1 and 2 or from the eye 5 as in Figs. 6 and 7 it is easily removable when it is desired to convert the sleeping apartment into a day apartment.

The curtains 2 are usually hung from the pole 3 by night and removed during the day.

It is obvious that if the retainer be hung as in Figs. 6 and 7 it will be removed with the curtain, while if it is hung as in Figs. 1 and 2 it can easily be removed by detaching the hook 2% from the pole 3. p v

H In the modified form illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9 the strap 11 is secured direct to the curtain 2, the hook 24: being omitted, and it does not differ from the foregoing description in any other particular. This form is convenient from the fact that hanging the curtains places the retainer in position and removing the curtain removes the retainer.

The clothes retainer is of chief impor tance for railway cars and the like, but may be advantageously employed in state rooms of vessels and the like. It is obvious that numerous changes may be made in the de tails as set forth without departure from the essential of the invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A clothes retainercomprising a single wire, a short straight portion of said wire in the center of the length thereof adapted to have a strap permanently secured thereto, the remaining portions of said wire bent dowmvard, said portions twisted together forming a half twist a short distance from said straight portion and extending approximately in opposite directionsto a distance to form a support for a coat thereon, returned and cross the opposite directed portions forming a half twist near said twisted portion and then twisted together forming a half twist below said coat supporting portion, bent in curved opposite directions forming a wide and low arc, then straight toward and paralleling each other to the opposite sides of said are and paralleling said are to near the top of said are and secured thereto by a single twist, and means on said portions forming said are to tighten said straight paralleling portions.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

NELVIA E. RITCHIE.

Witnesses LoUIs H. DOERING, MARVIN B. DAVIS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents. each, by addressing the Commissioner of latents,

Washington, I). C. 

